A New Year with New Resolutions

Hey everyone, and welcome to 2015! I hope you all had a great festive period – I definitely did but I didn’t get as much writing done as I’d hoped. Ah well, I’m working double time to catch up this month and I’m pretty optimistic about doing so.

I was wondering what to write about this time, since it’s the first post of the year and all. I wanted something with a bit of impact and that’s what’s led me to this, the topic of New Year resolutions. What has that got to do with writing, you might ask? Plenty, quite simply – at least for me. Let me explain.

My biggest resolution

I have a few resolutions this year. Some have carried over from last year and before and I’ll keep trying until I succeed and others are new but the one I want to draw your attention to is this:

I’m going to write for at least one hour every day.

Now, I already try to do that but on some occasions I just give up early or don’t bother because I’m tired or not in the mood. When I get a good run going, I find it is easy to do though. I don’t always work on the same thing and sometimes what I’ve produced isn’t worth keeping but it means that I’m more likely produce good stuff more often.

So, it’s not a huge resolution but I have to make sure that I do it EVERY DAY, even when I don’t feel like it – and this is on top of my blogging commitments! I’ve come across a number of tips about this, whether to do it in the morning or night is better and such but I think it depends on the person. I used to be better late at night but now I’m better early evening. Mornings are still hit and miss.

One thing I did find was to be consistent about the time. That’s easily done during the week – I normally do it when I get home from work but it’s an awkward time on a weekend when I might have plans. The solution? Either force myself to do it early or take a pen and paper and write when I can.

It’ll be hard at times but let’s see what comes of it, eh?

Some other benefits to consider

I came across another article today that actually makes a lot of sense. For the record, I’m not saying it’s totally true or should be taken as gospel but some of it does make sense, at least the more psychological stuff. It says that writers tend to enjoy more health benefits. Sound strange? I agree.

It definitely seems to be another reason for getting into writing and it works for bloggers and anyone who keeps a diary. You might not have much to say each time so do something creative. Use writing as a vent and you’ll feel like a huge weight is taken off you every day. That’ll make you feel better straight away – and that’s something I can vouch for.

What do you think of the article, fellow writers and bloggers? Is it a load of trash or do you notice any benefits from constantly writing? I do want to make it clear that just being in a writing job doesn’t help. I have been (or still kind of am) in a writing job but it’s different when you’re writing things you don’t want to, or don’t enjoy, or feel like you’re being forced to do so. Writing on your own terms, however, that’s a lot more enjoyable.